ATC121004: Report of the Select Committee on Appropriations on the hearings on the Fourth Quarter Expenditure on the Dinaledi Schools Grant, the Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant and the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant, dated 19 September 2012
Standing Committee on Appropriations
REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON
APPROPRIATIONS ON THE HEARINGS ON THE
FOURTH QUARTER EXPENDITURE ON THE DINALEDI SCHOOLS GRANT, THE TECHNICAL
SECONDARY SCHOOLS RECAPITALISATION GRANT AND THE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE BACKLOG
GRANT, DATED 19 SEPTEMBER 2012
1.
Introduction
The hearings formed part of the
Committees ongoing interaction with national departments and provinces to
monitor their spending patterns on conditional grants allocated to them. A
framework for each grant sets out the purpose of the grant, measurable
objectives, conditions, allocation criteria, and past performance, among other
things. The goal of the Dinaledi Schools Grant is to raise the participation
and performance, especially of black learners and girls learners, in
mathematics and science. The strategic goal of the Technical Secondary Schools
Recapitalisation Grant is to improve the condition of technical schools and
modernise them to meet the teaching requirements of learners in the technical
fields and increase the number of suitably qualified and technically skilled
graduates from these schools. The purpose of the School Infrastructure Backlog
Grant is to eradicate entire inappropriate schools and to provide basic
services like water, sanitation and electricity to schools.
1.1 Terms
of reference
The Committee invited the Department
of Basic Education and the National Treasury on 9 May 2012 to make
presentations on the provincial fourth quarter spending on the following conditional
grants:
·
Dinaledi Schools Conditional Grant;
·
·
School Infrastructure Backlog Grant.
During a follow-up meeting on 29 May
2012, a delegation from the Department of Basic Education, led by the Deputy
Minister, presented a more comprehensive report on the above-mentioned three
grants, as requested by the Committee at the meeting of 9 May 2012.
In addition, the provinces of
·
Dinaledi Schools Conditional Grant; and
·
The provinces of
2. Briefing
by Department of Basic Education (DBE)
2.1
Dinaledi Schools Grant
The purpose of the Dinaledi Schools
Grant (the grant) is to promote Mathematics and Physical Science teaching and
learning, improving learner performance and teachers content knowledge of
these subjects. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) reported that a total
of R70 million had been allocated for the grant for the 2011/12 financial year,
and had been transferred to the provinces, as follows:
Province
|
Total allocations
(R000)
|
Total transfers as at Jan 2012
(R000)
|
Total spent as at Mar 2012
(R000)
|
% Spent of transfers
|
% Spent of total allocation
|
|
8 400
|
8 400
|
8 396
|
99.95%
|
99.95%
|
|
5 040
|
5 040
|
4 816
|
95.56%
|
95.56%
|
|
14 140
|
14 140
|
14 140
|
100.00%
|
100.00%
|
|
12 320
|
12 320
|
13 543
|
109.93%
|
109.93%
|
|
7 140
|
4 998
|
607
|
12.14%
|
8.50%
|
|
6 440
|
6 440
|
5 696
|
88.45%
|
88.45%
|
|
2 380
|
2 380
|
2 379
|
99.96%
|
99.96%
|
|
7 420
|
7 420
|
6 584
|
88.17%
|
88.17%
|
|
6 720
|
6 720
|
6 683
|
99.45%
|
99.45%
|
TOTAL
|
67 858
|
67 858
|
62 802
|
92.55%
|
89.72%
|
The DBE reported that the following
challenges were being experienced:
·
Learner enrolment in Mathematics and Physical Science did
not increase substantially over the years. This was presumably linked to low
performance in these subjects.
·
Learners were moving to other subjects away from Mathematics
and Physical Science.
·
A lack of capacity in provinces and at the DBE contributed
to the slow pace of procurement and a lack of sufficient monitoring.
·
The enrolment and learner performance in Dinaledi schools
were not in keeping with the enormous capital outlay and intended outcomes.
The DBE recommended the following
remedial actions to address these challenges:
·
The grant must assist feeder schools in order to increase
the supply of learners taking Mathematics. The project was further intended to
expand to secondary schools situated near the identified Dinaledi schools by
making use of the resources at Dinaledi schools.
·
Provinces must ensure that the criteria for Dinaledi schools
are maintained at all times, which is that 60 per cent of learners take
Mathematics and 40 per cent take Mathematical Literacy.
·
In order to improve monitoring and evaluation of Dinaledi
schools, the DBE was in the process of capacitating the
·
The funding model for Dinaledi schools was restricted to 500
schools. It was proposed that a differentiated model be used with funding for
each school to be implemented on a sliding scale. As schools are resourced,
their budget support is reduced with a sustainability plan in place, allowing
for more schools to be included in the programme.
·
At present, support in terms of the grant is limited to
Grades 10 to 12 in identified Dinaledi schools. It was proposed that support be
extended to Grades 8 and 9 to enhance teaching and learning in these subjects,
improving understanding and affinity of learners. Support should include
training of educators, learning and teaching support materials, motivational
road shows and career guidance.
·
Additional classes and motivational talks must be offered in
order to increase the number of girl learners taking Mathematics and Physical
Science.
·
It was proposed that the Dinaledi budget be used to provide
connectivity for the remaining 268 Dinaledi schools in addition to the 132
schools being provided for through the Telkom network.
·
Dinaledi schools should be provided with digitised content
that allows for interactive teaching, learning and evaluation and for exploring
broadcasting solutions for curriculum content broadcasting as is currently
provided in the
2.2 Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant
The purpose of the Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant (the grant) is to recapitalise up to
200 technical schools by
·
Building workshops;
·
Refurbishing or re-designing workshops;
·
Buying and installing new machinery and equipment; and
·
Training and up-
skilling
teachers.
The Department of Basic Education
(DBE) reported that a total of R210.5 million had been allocated for the grant
for the 2011/12 financial year and expenditure by provinces had been as
follows:
Province
|
Total allocations
(R000)
|
Total transferred
(R000)
|
Amount spent (excluding commitments)
|
% Spent on total allocation
|
% Increase/ Decrease from 2010/11
|
|
40 272
|
40 272
|
34 492
|
86%
|
22%
|
|
14 428
|
14 428
|
14 428
|
100%
|
10%
|
|
30 596
|
30 596
|
10 649
|
35%
|
-45%
|
|
38 563
|
38 563
|
35 276
|
91%
|
-7%
|
|
31 894
|
31 894
|
11 043
|
35%
|
5%
|
|
21 464
|
21 464
|
21 780
|
101%
|
72%
|
|
7 667
|
7 667
|
7 829
|
102%
|
24%
|
|
17 015
|
17 015
|
7 662
|
45%
|
-42%
|
|
8 619
|
8 619
|
8 610
|
100%
|
6%
|
TOTAL
|
210 518
|
210 518
|
151 769
|
72%
|
-3%
|
Although the above table reflects
that expenditure has declined by 3 per cent compared to the 2010/11 financial
year, the DBE reported that, if financial commitments at the end of the year
were taken into account, the overall expenditure would be at 92 per cent.
The DBE reported that the provinces
of the
With regard to achieving service
delivery targets, the DBE reported that the following provinces had achieved
all their targets:
·
·
·
·
The DBE reported that the following
challenges had been experienced with the implementation of the grant:
·
Delays in the development and approval of tender
specifications for the building and refurbishment of workshops had resulted in
annual targets not being met in
·
Irregular monitoring, collection of data and reporting in
Limpopo, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape had resulted in the absence of
information to detect early warning signals for under-performance.
·
The late development of the provinces and schools business
plans had delayed the implementation of the grant in
·
Unrealistic projections in the business plans and the lack
of skills to coordinate projects had resulted in the
·
The failure to consult other departments and directorates,
such as Public Works an Infrastructure, had continued to delay the
implementation of building workshops in the
The DBE indicated that the following
strategies were being implemented to address the above-mentioned challenges:
·
Standard templates for procurement and uniform architectural
building plans have been developed at provincial level.
·
Monthly visits were being undertaken and implementing
agencies had dual reporting. Schools also reported to the project manager on a
monthly basis.
·
The business planning process in
·
Business plans in the
·
In the
According to the DBE, the gradual
increase in funding has led to an increase of the projected outputs. Although
overall expenditure had declined by 3 per cent, the increase in the outputs
achieved was a sign that operational systems at provincial and school level
were maturing and significant improvements in coordination could now be
identified. In order to ensure that improvements were made and sustained, a
dedicated unit to drive the implementation of the grant had been proposed.
2.3 School
Infrastructure Backlog Grant
The Department of Basic Education
(DBE) indicated that the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant (the grant) was
also referred to as the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative
(ASIDI). The purpose of the grant is to eradicate entire inappropriate schools
and to provide basic services like water, sanitation and electricity to
schools. In the 2011/12 financial year the budget had been divided as follows:
·
R420 million for the eradication of 50 entire mud schools;
and
·
R280 million for the provision of basic services to schools.
The following work had been
implemented during the 2011/12 financial year:
Province
|
Inappropriate
|
Electricity
|
Sanitation
|
Water
|
|
50
|
104
|
55
|
84
|
|
0
|
26
|
13
|
32
|
|
0
|
2
|
7
|
0
|
|
0
|
0
|
83
|
10
|
|
0
|
4
|
40
|
38
|
|
0
|
47
|
0
|
0
|
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
0
|
0
|
16
|
6
|
|
0
|
7
|
21
|
3
|
TOTAL
|
50
|
190
|
235
|
173
|
The DBE reported that the
Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) had been appointed as the
implementing agent (IA) for the 50 inappropriate schools in the
The DBE reported the total
expenditure on the grant for the 2011/12 financial year, as follows:
Description
|
Allocation per project
R000
|
Expenditure as at 31 March 2012
R000
|
Deviation
R000
|
% Spent
|
Inappropriate
structures
|
420 000
|
48 353
|
371 647
|
11.5%
|
Sanitation
|
138 252
|
7 918
|
130 334
|
5.7%
|
Water
|
38 826
|
1 116
|
37 710
|
2.9%
|
Electricity
|
65 573
|
42
|
65 531
|
0.1%
|
Other
|
37 349
|
2 254
|
35 095
|
6.0%
|
TOTAL
|
700 000
|
59 683
|
640 317
|
8.5%
|
2.3.1
Inappropriate schools
The DBE reported that progress had
been delayed on the construction of the 49 schools due to various challenges,
including
·
Delays in the procurement of
IAs
and the finalisation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA);
·
Delays, due to a conflict of interest, in the procurement of
professional service providers (
PSPs
) to undertake
scoping work;
·
A dispute with contractors about their grading for
qualification; and
·
A prolonged adjudication process.
The DBE presented the following
progress analysis on the 49 schools:
·
The programme was behind schedule at all of the schools
·
Progress at 16 of the schools was between 0.6 and 10 per
cent.
·
Progress at 24 of the schools was between 10.1 and 20 per cent.
·
Progress at 6 of the schools was between 20.1 and 30 per
cent.
·
Progress at 3 of the schools was over 30 per cent.
·
Notices had been issued and recovery plans produced for
three contractors
·
The DBSA was monitoring the implementation of the plans and
would advise on subsequent steps.
·
The DBSA had begun the process of terminating one contract.
·
The availability of skilled labour had proven to be a
challenge.
·
The programme was contributing to socio-economic upliftment
as many jobs were being created for locals.
·
The availability of material suppliers had been identified
as a risk factor.
2.3.2 Water
and sanitation
·
In
·
In the Eastern Cape, 49 of the 55 sanitation projects had
achieved practical completion and 82 out of 84 schools had been provided with
rain water harvesting tanks and related infrastructure. Twelve out of 38
projects had been connected to the municipal bulk water supply. None of the 49
projects identified for borehole connections were completed at the time of
reporting.
·
In
·
In the
·
In
·
In the
·
In the
2.3.3
Electrification
·
The programme was behind in the provinces of the
·
In
·
In the
·
In the
3. Briefing
by Western Cape Education Department
3.1 Dinaledi
Schools Grant
The Western Cape Education
Department (WCED) reported that it had been allocated the amount of R6.7
million for the Dinaledi Schools Grant (the grant) for the 2011/12 financial
year. Out of this they had spent a total of R6.6 million, or 95 per cent by 31
March 2012. The WCED further reported that the department had met all their
targets for the 48 Dinaledi schools in the province and that they were working
with 16 schools, who no longer qualified as Dinaledi schools, to get them back
on the grant.
3.2 Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant
The Western Cape Education
Department (WCED) reported that it had been allocated the amount of R8.6
million for the Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant (the grant)
in the 2011/12 financial year. By 31 March 2012 they had spent 99.9 per cent of
this, with a variance of R9 000. The department further reported that it
had met all their targets in respect of building, refurbishing and equipping
workshops and training educators.
4. Briefing
by Mpumalanga Department of Education
4.1 Dinaledi
Schools Grant
The Mpumalanga Department of
Education (MDE) reported that, of the allocation of R6.4 million for the 2011/12
financial year, the department had spent R5.7 million, or 88 per cent by 31
March 2012. Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM), as well as 175 computers,
908 science kits and 3600 calculators had been provided to schools. In
addition, 24 principals and 96 educators had been trained in curriculum
management and content knowledge.
With regard to challenges
experienced with this grant, the MDE indicated that there was a high vacancy
rate in office-based educators posts. The plan was to fill thirteen of these
posts by the end of August 2012. The MDE also reported that planned training
had been affected by the disengagement by members of a teacher union. The
targeted weekly training was now changed to year training.
The MDE further reported that it
planned to provide additional LTSM to schools in the 2012/13 financial year and
to continue the training for educators on content knowledge of subjects.
4.2 Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant
The Mpumalanga Department of
Education (MDE) reported that the department had spent 100 per cent of the
R21.8 million budget allocation for this grant in the 2011/12 financial year. A
total of five projects had been implemented at a cost of R39 million. Of these
projects, two had been completed, and the other three were 95 per cent, 90 per
cent and 66 per cent completed, respectively.
The MDE further reported that it had
initially planned to do fifteen projects but had to scale it down to five
because of higher than anticipated construction costs. The capacity of the
contractors to complete the work on time presented a further challenge, as well
vacancies within the infrastructure unit and the high turnover rate of Works
Inspectors at district level.
In order to address the
above-mentioned challenges, the National Treasury had appointed a Technical
Assistant who had assumed duty on 2 May 2012. The MDE also planned to fill
three technical posts at their head office by 1 July 2012, and to appoint a
Project Management Unit by the end of September 2012. This Unit would assist
the MDE with planning; costing of scope of work, budgeting, monitoring and
skills transfer to officials.
With regard to the plans for the
2012/13 financial year, the MDE indicated that they planned to complete the
three unfinished projects and start construction on one new project. In
addition, equipment for the workshops would be procured.
5. Briefing
by KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education
5.1 Dinaledi
Schools Grant
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of
Education (KZNDE) reported that it had spent its full allocation of R12.3
million for the Dinaledi Schools Grant (the grant) in the 2011/12 financial
year.
In terms of achievements, the
KZNDE reported that it had been able to deliver meaningful resources to schools
according to the needs analysis by schools and according to what would impact
on learner achievement. The department indicated that, due to cost cutting
measures, the growth of the programme had not been matched by similar growth in
administrative capacity. Personnel at district level monitored operations at
school level due to administrative capacity constraints. The KZNDE was also
reviewing the payment process in order to eradicate bottlenecks.
The KZNDE reported the following
challenges with respect to the grant:
·
Non-/late submission of claims by suppliers.
·
Suppliers who indicated that they did not have adequate
funds after securing an order number.
·
Suppliers who were hesitant to supply remote schools despite
being given the list of schools before quoting for the job.
·
Suppliers who did not deliver on time.
5.2 Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of
Education (KZNDE) reported that it had spent R36.7 million, or 95 per cent, of
its R38.5 million allocation for the Technical Secondary Schools
Recapitalisation Grant (the grant) in the 2011/12 financial year. The
department had requested a rollover for the balance of R1.8 million, as the
amount had been committed for equipment not in stock in the country.
The KZNDE reported the following
challenges with respect to the grant:
·
Suppliers not delivering timeously.
·
Delivery of machinery delayed due to overseas specialised
modern equipment.
·
Shortage of equipment for specialised functions at schools.
·
Implementing agents for infrastructure had to be changed due
to non-delivery.
6. Briefing
by Limpopo Department of Education
6.1 Dinaledi
Schools Grant
The Limpopo Department of Education
(LDE) reported that it had been allocated R7.1 million for the Dinaledi Schools
Grant (the grant) for the 2011/12 financial year. Of the total allocated
amount, R4.9 million had been received and R0.6 million, or 12 per cent, had
been spent. The department further reported that it had applied for a rollover
of R4.2 million for invoices received but not paid at year end due to section
100 payment processes. With regard to the remaining unspent and uncommitted
amount of R2.3 million, the LDE explained that all supply chain management
processes had been stopped when the department was placed under Section 100(1
)(
b) administration. The Section 100 administration team could
not process invoices for Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM) because of
ongoing investigations around the service provider. As a result, the service
provider could not process the LTSM orders. The Section 100 administration had
also led to disapprovals and late approvals of the planned activities.
6.2 Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant
The Limpopo Department of Education
(LDE) reported that it had been allocated an amount of R27.9 million for the Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant (the grant) in the 2011/12 financial
year. Of this amount the department had managed to spend R11 million and had
requested a rollover of R9.4 million for invoices received but not paid by the
end of the year due to Section 100 payment processes. With regard to the
remaining uncommitted amount of R7.3 million, the LDE explained that all supply
chain management processes had been stopped when the department was placed
under Section 100(1
)(
b). An amount of R3.8 million
related to the fact that Section 100 administration team could not process
invoices for Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM) because of ongoing
investigations around the service provider. As a result, the service provider
could not process the LTSM orders. An amount of R3.5 million related to the
procurement of equipment. The LDE had advertised, evaluated, adjudicated and
recommended the appointment of the service provider, but the appointment could
not be effected.
7. Briefing
by National Treasury
7.1 Dinaledi
Schools Grant
The National Treasury reported that
three provinces (
With regard to challenges affecting
expenditure, the National Treasury reported that procurement had initially been
the responsibility of the national Department of Basic Education (DBE).
However, due to various delays and challenges, provinces had been requested to
handle their own procurement and they then had to wait for the modalities to be
adjusted to enable them to procure directly. This had led to a large percentage
of the allocations only being spent in the fourth quarter.
The National Treasury highlighted
the following areas for improvement:
·
Reporting on the grant needed to be more output focused. A
direct measure of how many materials have actually been delivered to learners
should be included.
·
Reporting on the actual performance of Dinaledi schools
needed to be credible in all provinces, specifically
·
Certain provinces had indicated that not all their teachers
were properly trained in mathematics and physical science. In this regard,
7.2 Technical
Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant
The National Treasury reported that
two provinces (
·
·
·
North West: R10.5 million (57.7 per cent);
·
·
In response to a question from the
Committee, the National Treasury indicated that the following requests for
roll-overs had been received:
·
·
·
North West: 10.5 million; and
·
The
7.3 School
Infrastructure Backlog Grant
The National Treasury indicated that
this was a Schedule 7 grant. Funds were therefore not transferred to provinces,
but spent directly by the national Department of Basic Education (DBE). The preliminary
expenditure outcome indicated that, at 31 March 2012, the DBE had spent only
R839 000 of the R700 million allocation for the 2011/12 financial year.
The National Treasury reported that
the main reasons for the low spending had been the delay in appointing an
implementing agent and then further delays in appointing contractors. The
department indicated that the following progress in terms of delivery had been
reported by the DBE as at 6 February 2012:
·
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), who was the
implementing agent, had appointed contractors for the construction of all the
schools.
·
Sites had been handed over to the contractors on 12 and 13
January 2012.
·
The DBSA had given contractors a period of seven months to
complete all 49 schools. The anticipated completion date is 31 August 2012.
·
Of the 38 schools where construction had started, 29 were on
schedule at the time of the report. Eleven were scheduled to start later in the
year.
8. Findings
During interaction with the Department
of Basic Education, the National Treasury and provincial departments of education
from the
8.1
A lack of capacity
within provinces and the Department of Basic Education
has
contributed to the slow
pace of procurement and a lack of sufficient monitoring in the Dinaledi Schools
Grant.
8.2
The enrolment and learner performance in Dinaledi schools are
not in keeping with
the
enormous capital
outlay and intended outcomes.
8.3
The significant under-spending on the Dinaledi Schools Grant
and the Technical
Secondary Schools
Recapitalisation Grant by the provinces of
8.4
There has been huge under-spending by the Department of
Basic Education on the
School
Infrastructure Backlog Grant in the 2011/12 financial year.
The Committee found this
alarming when viewed in light of the lack of appropriate and safe school
structures and the lack of basic services at many rural schools.
9. Recommendations
After interaction with the Department
of Basic Education, the National Treasury and provincial departments of Education
from the
9.1
The Department of
Basic Education should expedite the formation of a dedicated unit at national
level to improve the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the
Dinaledi Schools Grant and the Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation
Grant.
9.2
The Department of Basic Education should extend support, in
terms of the Dinaledi Schools Grant, to Grades 8 and 9 in order to enhance
teaching and learning in Mathematics and Science, thus improving understanding
and affinity of learners.
9.3
The Provincial Department of Education in
9.4
The Department of Basic Education should provide the
Committee with a report with photographic evidence of the completed structures
of the outstanding 38 schools in the
Report to be considered
Documents
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